Projects as Agile Innovation Spaces? (Un-) Intended Effects in HE Development

Lorenz Mrohs

doi:10.21240/zfhe/20-4/01

In higher education institutions (HEIs), projects are becoming increasingly recognised as agile innovation spaces that facilitate innovation and implement structural change. However, little is known about how innovation-related projects affect structural transformation. This study analyses 20 qualitative interviews with coordinators of digitalization-related HE development projects. The findings indicate that both intended effects and unintended challenges influence the institutionalisation of innovations. Despite these tensions, projects function as agile structures and can serve as pivotal steering instruments in HE development and its academic governance.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

As universities worldwide face unprecedented challenges and changes – from technological upheavals to shifting societal expectations and the role of internationalisation – it is important to critically evaluate the role, structure and purpose of higher education institutions. This issue of ZFHE presents contributions that address the evolving models of higher education institutions and the various ways in which they are changing and/or adapting to a rapidly changing environment. The concept of universities as social institutions has long been the subject of scholarly inquiry, from the classical theories of Humboldt and Newman, which emphasise the role of the university in promoting intellectual growth, to more modern perspectives that view universities as dynamic actors in global knowledge economies (Gumport, Slaughter, etc.). More recent theoretical frameworks have shifted the focus to the university's ability to adapt and transform in response to external pressures, including global competition and internationalisation, digitalisation, and changes in public policy and funding models. This issue of ZFHE examines these issues from a variety of perspectives.

Authors

Lorenz Mrohs
Universität Bamberg
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4866-9734

How to Cite

Mrohs, L. (2025). Projects as Agile Innovation Spaces? (Un-) Intended Effects in HE Development. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung (Journal for Higher Education Development), 20(4), 23–41. https://doi.org/10.21240/zfhe/20-4/01

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